Improvement in sewing-machine for boots and shoes



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. D. MILLS.

Sewing Machine. No. 101,644. Patented April 5, 1870.

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N. PETERS MW- wuh'm UNITED STATES PATENT Orrron DANIEL MILLS, OF NEWYORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINE FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. [01,644, dated April 5,1870.

and I hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 represents a sectional sideelevation of a machine made in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2, afront view of the same.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to sewing-machines which are intended particularyfor turned work, so called-t. 0., where the uppers of boots and shoesare sewed directly to their soles with out the intermediary of welts,the work being inside out during the operation of sewing. Thisinvention, however, may also be adapted for sewing on welts to insolesand uppers; and said invention consists, first, in so locating thefulcrum of the feed-lever asto be on a level with the work to he sewed,thereby causing the feed-dog to come down square upon the work,substantially as hereinafter shown and described; second, in thecombination, with the vibratory feed-lever, of a feeddog mounted uponthe end of an elbow-lever, whose point of suspensionis at the elbow, therelative position of the working-face of the feed-dog, the end of thelever,which is in contact with its operating cam-disk, and the fulcrumor pivot upon which said feed dog and lover vibrate, beingsuch that thepivot and the end of the lever shall lie on opposite sides of a verticalplane passing through the working-face of the feed-dog at right angleswith the line of feed; third, in the combination, with the yieldingpressure-gage, of a locking device, to render said gage rigid at theproper intervals, as set forth; fourth, in the combination of theyielding pressure-gage with the lever actuated by the cam-disk and thesetscrew passing through said lever for operation, substantially asherein shown and described, so that said gage can at all times be lockedwith the required degree of tightness; fifth, in a combined edge-gageand welt-guide, constructed and arranged substantially as herein shownand described, so that the inner edge of the welt may be turned outwardfrom the upper or work at the point where the stitching takes place, andbe presented at a right angle to the needle, or nearly so, in order thatthe needle may squarely go thrt-ugh it, instead of going, through itobliquely, as it would do if the welt were not so bent up.

In the drawing, A represents aframe, which forms the bearings for theshaft B, on which is mounted thecam-disk O, that imparts motion to thevarious parts .of the sewing mechanism and its appurtenances. Throughthe upper part of the frame A extends a rod, D, which forms the fulcrumof a lever of the third order, E, and in the free end of this lever issecured the needle n, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. An oscillatorymotion is imparted to the lever E by a camgroove in the disk (J, thegroove acting on a roller-stud secured to said lever between the needleand the fulcrum D, so that the moving force is applied to said lever ata point as close to the needle as possible, thus furnishing the powerrequired to cause the needle to pass through leather or other thickmaterial, and at the same time preventing said lever from springingsufficiently to disturb the correct operation of the tubulararbor, c, towhich a reciprocating revolving motion is imparted by the action of arack, d, and pinion c, said rack receiving the required reciprocatingmotion by a camgroove,

6*, in the periphery of the disk 0, which connects vwith the rack by alever, e*. The looper F, being made to extend eccentrically from the endofthe tubular arbor 0,,partakes of the reciprocating motion of saidarbor, and in doing so it carries the thread round the barb of theneedle. The tubular arbor 0 extends through a cavity in the bottom partof the frame A, and it is exposed to the flame of a lamp or gas-burner,a draft hole, 0, being provided in the upper end of said cavity, so thatthe waxed thread, in passing through said tubular arbor, becomes heatedand pliable. The pinion e is either keyed to the arbor c, or it isproduced. by cutting teeth in. the circumfertion of the rack 01 isfacilitated by the action of a spring, 01*, connected to the lever 12,as insured by the edge-gage J, which is secured shown in the drawing.The required feedmotion is imparted to the work by the feeddog G, whichhas its fulcrum on the free end of the lever H, and receives anoscillating motion by the action of a cam on the side ofthe disk U. Thelever H, that carries the feedlever, has its fulcrum on a pivot, f,situated on a level with the work, and it receives an oscillating motionby a cam mounted on the shaft 13.

By placing the fulcrum of the lever that supports the feeding-dog on alevel with the work, its point is brought down squarely upon said work,which is not the case if the fulcrum be situated higher or lower thanthe level of the work, and the oscillating motions of the feed-dog andof the lever are so timed that the feed-dog is first brought down uponthe work by the action of the feed-lever, then receives its oscillatingmotion, so as to push the work along. It is then raised from .the workand carried back to its original position, ready for the subsequentfeed.

The connection between the feed-dog and lover is effected by a pivot, g,projecting from the free end of the lever, and passing through an eye,h, formed in the elbow of the feed-dog at the point farthest removedfrom the arm 2', which carries a roller, j, that acts against the cam onthe side of the disk 0. Said eye or pivot isso situated in relation tothe working face of the feed-dog and to the roller-arm i that it lies onthat side of a vertical plane passing through the working-face of thefeeddog opposite to that on which the roller-arm i is situated,wherebythe pressure of the feed- (log against the work has a tendency to keepthe roller j in contact with its cam, thus rendering the feed motionsure and uniform.

This machine is intended particularly for sewing the uppers of boots andshoes to the soles, in what is technically known as turned work, and thework is turned inside out, and put on a last in the usual manner, achannel being made in the inner surface of the sole to receive thestitches, as indicated in Fig. 3, at a and I), where the work is shownbefore and after it is turned.

The last is secured in a last-holder, which is placed on a table, (notshown in the drawing,) and said table is forced up by means of a springor weight, so that the work will be pressed up against the surface-gageI. This gage is secured to the edge of the frame, and it is providedwith side flanges 1', which overlap the edges of the frame and preventthe gage from swinging out sidewise. A screw, 8, retains the gage inposition, and another screw, t, which bears on the top edge of saidgage, serves to adjust the same up and down, so that the work will bepresented to the needle in the proper position, as more clearly shown inFig. 4, which represents a side view of the parts last referred to.

The correct position of the work is further to the outer end of a pin orslide, a, fitted into a cavity in the frame A, and subjected to theaction of a spring, 1), which keeps said gage in contact with the edgeof the work, and allows the same to follow the sinuosities thereof.

This edge-gage also serves to retain the work against the thrust of theneedle, and to effect this purpose a locking-lever, K, is applied, whichis operated by a cam in the side of the disk 0.

This lever has its fulcrum on a pivot, j, secured in a lug projectingfrom the frame A, and it carries a set-screw, 0, which acts on the slidea of the ed ge-gage at the proper interval, and serves to retain thesame firmly in position while the needle passes through the work. Byadjusting the set-screw the lockinglever can be made to do its work withgreat precision, and without fail.

Although this machine is, as before said, particularly adapted to turnedwork, it can also be used for welt-se wing by the appliance of awelt-gu1de to the edge-gage. At one side of the latter, and rigidlyconnected, is a slotted piece of sheet metal, of angular formation, asshown in front and side elevation in Fig. 5.

The face a of the welt-guide is so inclined in relation to the face b,and the slot therein so formed, that the inner edge of the welt, whichis or may be fed from a strip of any length, is bent or turned outwardfrom the upper or work at the point where the stitching takes place, andis presented at right angles, or nearly so, to the needle. In this waythe needle will go squarely through the welt, instead of going obliquelythrough, as it would do if the belt were not so bent up.

The correct operation of the needle in retaining and releasing the loopof the thread at the proper intervals, is insured by the barbcoverer to,which is secured to a lever, M.

This lever has its fulcrum on the rod D, in the top of the frame A, andit is situated close to the side of the needle-lever E, and subjected tothe action of a spring, 00, whichis secured to the edge of theneedle-lever.

A cam on the shaft B acts on the lever M, and. serves to impart to thebarb-coverer its own distinct motion, as will be presently explained.

The free end of the lever M is provided with an oblong slot, 2, throughwhich passes a screw, a, which is secured in the needle-lever,

as seen in Fig. 4. The motion of the barhcoverer in relation to theneedle is as follows:

When the needle enters the work, the barbcoverer is resting against thework, being pressed up by the spring 00, which is fastened to theneedle-lever. When the needle recedes, the barb-coverer remainsstationary until the barb is covered. Then the set-screw a in theneedle-lever strikes the end of the slot'z in the lever M, and carriesthe barb-coverer up with it until near the outer end of its motion,

when the barb-coverer receives an additional outward movement by its owncam, and is retained there while the needle comes back, and it does notovertake the needle until the same is near entering its work again.

By these means the loop is prevented from slipping out of the barb whilethe needle is out, and as soon as the needle moves in the barb isuncovered, and the loop is free to drop out, and the barb-coverer doesnot move in until the loop has been carried out of the way by the feedmotion imparted to the work.

Having now described this invention, and the manner in which the same isor may be carried into effect, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. The vibrating lever, carrying the feeding-dog'and pivoted on a levelwith the work to be sewed, whereby the feed-dog is caused to come downsquarely upon the work, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The vibrating lever, in combination with the feeding-dog, formedsubstantially like an elbow-lever and pivoted at its elbow, and soshaped that the arm of the elbow-lever in contact with the operatingcam-disk and the working face of the feed-dog lie on the same side ofthe pivotal point of the elbow-lever, so that, when the dog rests on thematerial, its pressure thereon tends to throw the opposite end of theelbow-lever against its actuatingcam.

3. The combination, with the yielding pressure-gage, of thelocking-mechanism, constructed as described, to render said gage rigidat the proper intervals, as set forth.

4:. The combination of the yielding pressure-gage with the lever,actuated by the camdisk and the set-screw passing through said lever,for operation substantially as herein shown and described, so that saidgage can at all times be locked with the required degree of tightness.

5. A combined edge-gage and welt-guide, constructed and arrangedsubstantially as herein shown and described, so that the inner edge ofthe welt may be turned outward from the upper or work at the point wherethe stitching takes place, and be presented at a right angle to theneedle, or nearly'so, in order that the needle may go squarely throughit instead of going through it obliquely, as it would do if the weltwere not so bent up.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification beforetwo subscribin g witnesses. e

. DANL. MILLS. Witnesses:

M. BAILEY, A. POLLOK.

